Witch Hunt
by Usamimi - sama
Summary: A witch hunt is a search for people who have the ability to use supernatural powers. The punishment, death. [Note : Chrome will be mentioned as Nagi in this story.]
1. I Nagi

It was dark as Nagi sneaked back into her house. It was way past the time that she was supposed to be home, but it was probably all right since her parents were most likely asleep by now. As silently as she can, Nagi opens the door to her house. She then steps inside, closing the door softly so there would be no noise. Hopefully no one noticed the dummy she had put under her blanket in her bedroom. "Where have you been?" a feminine voice asks. The girl turns around in shock. Her parents were not supposed to be up at this time. "Didn't you hear me? Where have you been?" her mother asks sternly.  
"Nagi, it's okay, just tell us the truth." her father says. He was a kinder person than her mother at least.  
"I-" Nagi squeaks, glancing at her parents then to the floor, "I was just visiting a friend."  
"What friend?" demands the mother.  
"S-Sousuke…" she replies softly.  
Her father gasps in shock while her mother only got angrier. "That boy at the bakery?! Didn't I tell you not to bother with that child? He's no good for you!" she yells.  
"But he's not like what you think he is!" Nagi fearfully says back, "Just because his mother was accused of being a witch doesn't make him bad as we - " Nagi was cut off by a slap across the face. She cries and touches her cheek, her pale skin turning red. "You are MY daughter, and you WILL do as I say." her mother seethes, grabbing her daughter's wrist harshly. "Calm down dear." Nagi's father says in an attempt to break the tension.  
"No, I will not calm down! This behavior is just unacceptable!" the woman barks, tightening her grip on Nagi's wrist. Her long nails were starting to dig into the skin.  
"L-Let me go, it hurts." Nagi cries out.  
"You little brat, I guess I just have to teach you a lesson, beat some sense into you!" her mother shouts.  
"No, let go!" Nagi yells back.

A huge lion suddenly appears out of nowhere and pushes the mother down to the ground. It then roared close to the woman's face, like she was a threat. The creature soon disappears after that. Total horror was written all over her parents' faces after experiencing that. _No, what have I done?!_ Nagi frantically thought. She took this chance to dash out the door as fast as she could, having no destination in mind.

 _I have to get out of here._

Nagi ran. In the distance, she could hear her mother alerting other people that the girl was a witch. _"My daughter is a witch!"_ the woman cried, _"Get the little brat!"_  
It was to be expected. Her parents did not really care much for her anyway. Her mother only cared for herself.  
Nagi squeezes her eyes shut and forces herself to run faster, her dark cloak and long violet hair fluttering behind her.

By now a group of townspeople had started to chase Nagi, carrying torches whose falmes danced wildly in the dark. "Get her!" they shouted, "Burn her at the stake!"  
This only made the girl run faster, turning to make short cuts and creating distractions with her powers to slow the mob down. She then turns into an alley, only to find that it was a dead end. "No!" she cries. Nagi turns around to see the torches' lights getting closer and closer. Not knowing what to do, she goes to a dark corner and crouches, using her cloak to hide her body in the shadows.  
"This is where she went." a gruff voice says. The mob stops in front of the alley, waiting for someone brave enough to go find the girl. A man then reluctantly steps forward, going deeper into the alley.

 _Please don't find me, please don't find me, please don't find me._ Nagi repeats over and over in her head. Her heart was racing and she felt sweat form in the palm her hands. She hears the sound of footsteps of the man drawing nearer to her location. The sound of shoes against stone ceased a few seconds later. Nagi felt the heat of the torch near the area on her back. Right now she just wished that she was invisible at the moment.  
"She's not here!" the man shouts to the group that waited for him. He then rushes back to them so that they could continue searching for the witch.  
After all the people left, Nagi heaves a sigh of relief and stands up. Her legs and hands were shaking, her mind was racing with so many thoughts as well. What should she do now? She could not go back home now or go anywhere in town for the matter.

While going through the thoughts, a black cat meows and sits in front of Nagi, licking its paw. Its yellow eyes seemed like it glowed in the dark. "Oh, hello. What are you doing here?" the girl says and bends down to pat the feline on its head. The cat then stands up and turned towards the exit of the alley, and looked at Nagi with expectant eyes. "You want me to follow you?" she asks the creature. The cat turns and starts to walk out of the alley and onto the street. Nagi silently follows until she reached a familiar place. "The bakery?" she mumbles.  
The door to the place opens, revealing a boy the same age as her with messy blonde hair and sea green eyes. "Oh, Midnight! Back from your walk I see." the boy says and scoops the cat up in his arms.  
"S-Sousuke?" Nagi utters.  
The boy looks up in surprise, "Nagi?" What are you doing here?" he says and drags Nagi into the bakery, which is also his home, "You have to hide, they're looking for you." he quickly says in a panicked tone as he shut the door. Midnight the cat was now free from Sousuke's grasp and headed up the stairs where the rooms are.  
"Nagi, what happened?" Sousuke asks.  
"My parents, they caught me. Mother snapped a-and I don't know what happened. I panicked and then my powers were accidentally used." the girl explains.  
Sousuke patiently listens as he got a cup of water for Nagi. He leads her to a table for both of them to sit.  
"I don't know what to do, Sousuke. I can't stay here anymore." Nagi says with a shaky voice. Her tears glistened in the dim light provided by a single candle in the middle of the table.  
Sousuke looks at his friend with sad eyes. Not all witches were evil. In fact, most of them are were kind people like his mother. People are just afraid of what their powers can do. The witches, sorcerers, and anyone who supported them would be put to death. Even if someone were the slightest bit suspicious would get punished. It was a tragedy really.

Sousuke's eyes brighten, an idea struck him. "Nagi, I my mother talking about some mansion in the woods that is a refuge for people like you." he says.  
 _A mansion in the middle of the forest?_ The idea scared her, going into a place like that alone was a bad idea on its own, but going there when it is dark was an even worse idea. _But I have no other choice._ Nagi thought.  
"I'll go."

* * *

Nagi and Sousuke went to the edge of town where the entrance to the woods was. The wind blew wildly as the two stared at the huge trees that swayed with the strong breeze.  
"The bread and water should last you a few days." Sousuke says, pointing to the bag slung across Nagi's shoulder. The blonde then takes something out of his pocket and puts it around the girl's neck. "This was my mother's, I want you to have it now. It's for good luck and protection."  
Nagi looks at the object that was given to her. It was a pendant with a purple gem that hung from a golden chain. "A-Are you sure you want me to have this?" she asks as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "It must be really precious to you."  
Sousuke chuckles, "I want you to have it Nagi, mother would have done the same. Besides, it really suits you." Though he was smiling happily, you can see a hint of sadness in his green eyes. Tears start to fall down on Nagi's face once more. "O-Oi, don't start crying again!" he exclaims.  
"B-But-" Before she could finish her sentence, Sousuke pulls Nagi into an embrace, burying his nose in her purple hair. "It's all right, we'll meet again some day. I'm sure of it!" he says, "Now go Nagi, I'll make sure no one follows you from here."

Nagi closes her eyes, breathing in the scent of sweet pastries that the boy had on him. "Goodbye Sousuke." she says softly. He lets her go and gives her a sad smile, "Goodbye Nagi."  
With that, the girl was off into the woods. She took one last glance at her friend and disappeared into the trees.

The temperature got colder and colder as Nagi treaded through the woods. Her cloak was not enough to keep her warm. _"My mother said that if you follow that star, you will find the mansion."_ Nagi recalls Sousuke saying. She looks up to the night sky and sees a star that shined more brightly than the others. _I hope I can make it before day breaks._ Nagi thought worriedly. She had no idea how she would find the mansion once the stars were gone.

Hours went on and on, but the girl still had not reached her destination. _How far is this place?_ Her legs were growing tired from walking and her eyelids were getting heavy. There was only a quarter of water left in the container too.  
No longer having the energy to go on, Nagi slumps down on a nearby tree and sighs. _The stars are beautiful tonight._

Slowly, her eyes started to close.

* * *

It was early in the morning when a brunette boy with fluffy, spiky hair and hazel eyes was taking a stroll through the forest. He wore a red long sleeved shirt and overalls. "Mom's food was delicious as always." the boy cheerfully says.  
The sun was shining through the trees brightly and the relaxing sound of nature rang throughout the woods. The weather was neither too hot nor too cool. "Hie! What's a girl doing in the middle of the woods?!" the boy exclaims as he noticed a girl with long purple hair wearing a white dress and dark blue cloak sleeping peacefully against a tree. "Sh-Should I wake her?" the boy wonders. He finally decides to wake the sleeping girl up, fearing for what might happen to her if he just left her there. Anything can happen after all.

"H-Hey, are you awake?" the brunette asks, bending down in front of her. The girl did not wake, so he decided to tap her on the shoulder a little. "Hey, uh, wake up. What are you doing here all alone?" he asks.  
Pretty soon, the purple haired girl moans and slowly opens her eyes. When she saw the boy staring at her, she squeaks and gets up hurriedly. She then tries to run, only to trip on a tree root. "O-Oi, a-am I that scary?" the boy says and sweat drops as he stared at the girl in utter confusion. He walks over to the girl to help her up by reaching out his hand for her to grab. The girl's face turns red with embarrassment as she took the boy's hand and stands up.  
"Oh, I forgot o ask. What's your name?" the boy asks.  
The girl stays silent for a moment _He couldn't possibly know, right?_ she thinks. "N-Nagi." She answers.  
The boy grins, "Ah, I see, my name is Tsuna. S-Since you're kind of injured, why don't you come to my place to treat your wounds?" he offers.  
Nagi looks down and sees that abrasions on her knees along with some parts of her arms. Seeing that the boy showed no signs of hostility, she agrees.

Tsuna's house was not that far from the tree where Nagi was found. According to him, his family lives in a small house in the woods. When the house came into view, Nagi could see that the structure was made mostly of wood from the surrounding trees. Smoke was coming from the chimney which could mean that someone was cooking. "Tsu-kun! You're back earlier than usual. Who is this cute girl with you?" a lady who had short hair with the same color as Tsuna asks. She was outside hanging some clothes out to dry, wearing a white long sleeved dress the reached her ankles and a brown apron.  
"This is Nagi. She's injured so I thought we should take care of the wounds." the boy explains.  
"I see! Welcome, Nagi, I'm Tsu-kun's mother. You can call me Mama if you want." the lady says with a radiant smile. The only person who ever showed kindness to her was Sousuke. Most of the time, people pretty much ignored her existence entirely. This was something different, it made Nagi feel fuzzy inside. "So, now that we're done with the introductions, let's get you patched up, Nagi-chan." the mother says. She takes Nagi by the hand and leads her into the little wooden house.

The interior of the house was very cozy. Everything was kept neatly and a sweet aroma filled the room. Even though the place was small, the atmosphere around it was very warm and welcoming. "You're quite far away from home aren't you?" says Tsuna. He gets a chair for Nagi to sit on while his mother went to prepare for her treatment. "So what brings you here?" he asks.  
Nagi's eyes became sad and looks down to the floor. Tsuna gets the idea of what he just asked and panicked. "Ah! I didn't mean to." he stutters, "I'll just get you something to eat, travelling all this way must have starved you."  
"No, it's all right, I have my own food." Nagi says, bringing up the bag she carried with her.  
"Come on, eating your rations now would be a waste."  
"I-It's fine."  
In reality, Nagi did not want to take any food since she felt like she was burdening others with more work. Tsuna smiles a little, "Okay then, how about this? You can eat your food now, but when you continue on your journey, you have to let us provide you with food." he says. The purple haired girl looks up, surprised at how kind the boy is. She nods shyly in agreement, making Tsuna feel satisfied. "I'll just go and get you some water then. Don't go anywhere." he said and goes outside to draw water from a well. Meanwhile, Nagi took out a piece of bread and started eating it.

Just as Tsuna went out, his mother came in with a small glass bottle, some herbs, and bandages. "Sorry we don't have much, I'm going to use alcohol on your wounds. Is that fine?" she asks.  
For a second, Nagi was afraid. She had not have alcohol poured on her injuries before, but she did hear that it was really painful. She also heard that is was effective though. Having no other choice, the girl allows the mother to proceed.

* * *

Once Tsuna came back from his errand, he walked into his house to see his mother doing something that made Nagi yelp in pain. "HIE! Mom, what are you doing?!" he exclaims. The brunette puts the jar he was carrying on a table and rushes to Nagi's side. "Oh, Tsu-kun! Perfect timing, can you help hold the bandages?" his mother says and hands him the bandages she was holding to Tsuna. He looked agitated as he received the strips of cloth. Now that her hands were free, the mother could treat Nagi's wounds more easily. "Is that dad's alcohol?!" he shouts as he stares at the familiar looking bottle his mother currently held.  
"Now, now, Papa can get more when he comes back from his job."  
"B-But-"  
"No 'but's Tsu-kun. It's better than letting her get infected."  
Tsuna immediately shut up. He watched anxiously as Nagi again groans in pain while his mother reassured her that it will be all right. When she was done, Tsuna handed her a bandage to wrap around the wound.

Nagi took in deep shaky breath. The stinging sensation in her leg was still there, but less painful than when the alcohol was being poured on her wounds. At least the worst part is over, now all that is left are the small wounds on her hands and arms. Tsuna's mother pours the alcohol on a piece of cloth and dabs it on the girl's hand. This time it stung less. Both her legs and right arm were wrapped in bandages. "You're a strong girl Nagi," the mother says with a gentle smile, "If it were Tsu-kun, he would have cried like a baby by now."  
"Mom!" Tsuna yells as his face went red. The woman laughs at her son's reaction. It is true that Tsuna had a low pain tolerance. After a while, Nagi started to giggle a little too. It has been a long time since she had laughed like this.

"Nagi-chan, why don't you stay with us for a little while? Just to regain your strength a little." The mother offers.  
"Y-You don't have to do that, you have already done a lot for me." says Nagi, feeling timid. She feels very certain that the people from town were still out there searching for her. It will be troubling if they found out she was here so she has to keep moving. The problem is how will she explain this to these two? If they found out she was a sorceress, they will definitely be scared of her. Most likely, they will report her to the people in a nearby town worst case scenario.  
"At least stay here for one night." the lady says with pleading eyes. It has been a long time since she had a girl around in the house and had already taken a liking to Nagi. "I-If you are fine with it." the girl says. The mother squeals in excitement.

Unfortunately there is no guest room in the house so Nagi had to stay in Tsuna's room while the boy temporarily stayed in his mother's room. It was still early in the afternoon so Nagi, Tsuna, and his mother decided to have lunch together.  
"I think Papa will be coming back in a few more weeks." the mother says happily as she placed bowls of stew on the table in front of the two kids and at the place she is about to sit at. The stew smelled extremely delicious, and it tool all of Nagi's will power just to not drool. Once Tsuna's mother sat in her seat, she and Tsuna put their hands together and gleefully said "Itadakimasu." before digging into their food. Nagi followed suit but said it more quietly. She dipped her spoon into the liquid and brought it to her mouth. Her eyes widened at how good the food tasted.  
"You can have more if you want, Nagi-chan." the mother says. She was smiling at the little girl, feeling satisfied with her reaction. Nagi blushes a little and shakes her head. She felt embarrassed to take more than what she needed. Meanwhile, Tsuna was enjoying the dish fully, but did not eat too greedily.

"So where do you plan to go after you leave?" Tsuna's mother asks out of curiosity. Nagi paused her hand as she was about to take up more stew. What was she supposed to answer? That she was travelling to some magical mansion in the middle of the woods that is a home for witches? As if anyone would believe that. She would be deemed insane. "I-I'm going to stay in a relative's place." the girl says, stirring her spoon through the stew absent mindedly.  
"I see." the lady says and continues eating. Even though it was quiet, no one felt awkward about the situation.

After a while, all three of them had finished their afternoon meal. Tsuna and his mother then decided to show Nagi her room. The room was right across from the parent's room. It was a tiny space, but it was cozy enough. There was a window that shows the woods outside, the sun still shining through the trees and leaving a path of sunlight on the ground. "Sorry that it isn't much." Tsuna says and scratches the back of his head. Nagi shakes her head, signaling that it was not a problem. She walks around the room and looks at the different things in it. There was a soft looking bed in the corner next to the window. A large closet with a reddish brown color stands in front of the bed against the opposite wall. Next to it was a chest that held multiple items such as toys and books. "I hope it's not weird to ask, but do you want to go outside for a walk?" Tsuna asks, "It gets a little boring here so I thought it would brighten your mood."  
The brunette looked nervous when he asked the question. It was because he was asking a girl, which is something he is not used to at all. After thinking for a while, Nagi agrees.

The two walk out of the house and said a short farewell to Tsuna's mother. They treaded into the woods. It was warmer now since it was afternoon, but Nagi wore her cloak anyway. She did not really feel hot at all.  
Tsuna and Nagi talked about random things as they were walking. They talked about what they did everyday, how Nagi's life in a town was and what Tsuna's life was like living away from towns and villages. Even though he lived isolated from people, Tsuna did have some friends that came to visit sometimes. "So I heard that witch hunting is still going on." Tsuna says.  
The girl panicked a little inside. Had he already figured it out? Nagi pushed the thought aside and decided to stay quiet. "What do you think about it?" asks Tsuna.  
"I think it's scary." Nagi replies.  
Tsuna mouths an 'oh' and nods, "I feel the same way. I hear that they kill innocent people sometimes as well. It's awful." he says and looks down at his feet.

The pair stayed silent for a while, not really knowing what to say after that. The soft sounds of different birds singing fill the air as they walked. There were not many trees on the path so it was not as shady as the other parts of the forest. While Nagi's mind and eyes wandered, she noticed that the pendant Sousuke gave her started to glow unusually, and it was floating as if it were pointing somewhere. She turns to look to the ground on her right. There was an unusual white flower in full bloom, looking out of place among the other plants that grew around it. The flower's white petals seemed to reflect some of the sunlight that shined on it. This mesmerized Nagi, and made the girl stare for quite while in curiosity. "Nagi, what are you looking at?" Tsuna asks once he noticed Nagi was no longer walking beside him. Nagi snapped out of her trance and turned to the brunette who was giving her a confused look.  
"It's nothing, I was just looking at a flower." Nagi says. Tsuna looks at the spot Nagi was staring at and becae even more confused. "I don't see anything." he says. Nagi is surprised by this and turns to look at the flower again. It was still there. Instead of arguing with him, she decided to keep quiet about it.  
"Never mind, it must have been my imagination." she says. Tsuna shrugs and continues walking, with Nagi soon following.  
She turned her head once in a while to glance at the white flower to see if it would disappear. It did not. _So it's not a hallucination._

"Oh I know!" Tsuna suddenly blurts out, "I'm going to take you to this really cool place. Follow me."  
The boy then runs off, leaving Nagi to catch up. She tries to fasten her walking pace, but Tsuna's figure only got farther away. So Nagi sprints. It feels more tiring to run now than it was when she was being chased by the mob last night. What made it even harder are the bandages that wrapped around her legs. It took only a moment for her to catch up with Tsuna. After a few pants, Nagi looks up and sees a beautiful sight before her.

A shining blue lake was smehow in the middle of the forest. Groups of different kinds of flowers bloomed around the area surrounding the lake, their sweet scent filling the air. The place was out in the open, making it seem like it glowed in the presence of sunlight.  
"Amazing right?" Tsuna says. Nagi did not reply and looked on in awe. The brunette smiles at her reaction and walks forward, gesturing for her to follow him. Nagi walks and focuses her attention on her surroundings.  
A butterfly with blue wings flutters by in front of Nagi and eventually lands on her shoulder. _Beautiful…_ she thought and continues moving, making the butterfly fly off from her shoulder to somewhere else. As she walked, the grass tickled her ankles. "Over here Nagi." Tsuna calls out. He was standing near the edge of the lake with a big smile on his face.  
Nagi makes her way to the boy and sat down next to him.

"I always like to come here whenever I can." Tsuna says and sits down next to Nagi, "It's a very peaceful place so I feel at ease."  
The girl nods in agreement and looks down at her reflection in the lake. Her long hair looked disheveled and her eyes tired. _I wonder if they've stopped looking for me._ The thought soon faded to the back of her mind, all her worries seemed nonexistent. A few fish swam in the water below; it was crystal clear so the fish's colors could be easily seen. Their silver scales shimmered in the light as they swam past.

" _It's not safe here."_ a voice says in Nagi's head. Her eyes snap open as she was about to fall asleep. _"You have to go, quickly."_ the voice warns. Nagi turns her head back once the scent of burning wood reached her nose. The whole forest was set on fire, and the sound of people yelling and screaming could be heard.  
 _"Death to the witch!"  
"Be gone you evil soul!"  
"Die!"  
_Nagi watches in horror as the bright orange flames started to engulf her and her surroundings. She could not even muster the strength to scream, she felt helpless. Hands reached out to grab her from all sides. As Nagi's skin burned as the hands made contact with her. _No, stay away!_ she wanted to yell.

"Nagi, are you all right?"  
The purple haired girl whimpered and jumped. She quickly looks around her, her violet eyes darting in random directions. There was no fire. No people that were trying to kill her. She was still in the serene atmosphere of the lake. "You looked like you were having a bad dream." Tsuna said. For some odd reason, his cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink, "Do you want to go back? You look really stressed out."  
Nagi nods and gets up. This place is having a bad effect on her.

As she followed Tsuna back to the house, Nagi felt worried. What did the vision from before mean? Were the people searching for her going to show up at any moment? _I have to hurry._ Nagi says to herself. Tsuna and his mother's lives are at risk because of her. They will execute anybody who has helped a witch if they found out. Nagi was deep in thought and almost failed to notice that Tsuna had stopped walking. "What's wrong?" she asks.  
Tsuna stared in confusion at his house in the distance, "That's weird, why are there people here?"  
Nagi looks toward the direction of the house and sees the all to familiar faces of the people from town. _This soon?!_  
"C-Can we enter through the back door?" Nagi asks anxiously.  
"The back, what for?"  
"Please."  
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Tsuna leads Nagi to another path that leads to the house's back door.

The two of them quietly enter the house and sneak into Tsuna's room. "Do you know those people, Nagi?"  
The girl avoids eye contact and looks down to the floor, "Those people want to do something bad to me." she says softly. Tsuna nods, "Okay then, you have to hide somewhere for now. They are definitely going to search the house soon." he says.  
Tsuna looks around his room to see what he can to do to help. They could not go outside since it is risky. Tsuna's eyes then landed on the closet in front of his bed.


	2. II Nagi

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I don't know who you are talking about." Tsuna's mother says to the many men and women standing at her door.  
"Ma'am, we have a reason to believe that you are harboring a witch in your house." a man says.  
"Eh? How so?"  
"Someone saw the witch we were looking for around his area. If you are really innocent, then please give us the permission to search your house."  
"Well…"

"Mom, I'm back." Tsuna says as he runs up to his mother. He then looks curiously at the people she was talking to, "U-Uh, who might you be?" he says and looks at them shyly.  
"We are looking for a witch who escaped from our town last night. We heard that she was around this area and would like to check your home." the man who spoke to the woman earlier says.  
"I see, f-feel free to come in then."  
"Thank you young man, your help is appreciated."  
So the group of people enters the house and start searching for the witch. Tsuna and his mother went outside to have the chat in private in the meanwhile.

His mother had a worried look on her face as she asked for the whereabouts of Nagi. Tsuna reassures her that the girl is safe inside the house. _Now all we have to do is hope she doesn't get caught._ thinks Tsuna as he looks at his house.

* * *

It was a little hard to breathe in the space Nagi was hiding in, but it was better than nothing. So far, nobody had entered the room yet. Most of the people were too busy checking the kitchen and Tsuna's mother's room. Then, the sound of footsteps became louder and louder. The door to Tsuna's room opens and the voices of two boys talking to each other could be heard. "Who knew hunting for witches would be this tiring? We've been searching for so long with no luck at all." a boy says.  
"We can't expect a witch to come running to us can we? Just be patient, the fun part will come soon." another boy says. This boy sounded more mature than the other one. Nagi could hear the sheets of the bed being removed. "Check under the bed not the blankets. They aren't dumb ya know?" the older sounding boy says. The younger one scoffs and moves the bed, the scraping of wood against the floor sounding throughout the room. When nothing could be found under the bed, the younger boy mocks the elder one, "They aren't dumb ya know?"  
"Oh shut up."

The two boys' footsteps then got closer to Nagi's hiding spot, making her heart beat faster than before. _Please don't find me_. she says in her head over and over again.  
"This closet looks big enough to fit someone inside." the younger one says.  
"So it seems." says the older.  
The two of them stand in front of the closet and stare at it nervously.  
"You take one handle, I'll take the other."  
"All right."  
After a moment's hesitation, the boys open the closet, only to have a mountain of clothes fall in a pile in front of them. "What the hell?! This is way too messy, even for a guy!" the young boy says. He stares in disgust at the clothes on the floor. They were all rumpled and looked so…cheap. "Well, she isn't here. Let's go." says the older boy as he walks out of the room. The younger boy tries to stuff all the clothes back into the closet and rushes out to catch up with the rest of the group.

Nagi heaves a sigh of relief when the two boys had gone. She did not want to leave her hiding space however because she feared that other people would come into the room and find her. So the girl stayed as she was. Minutes passed and another set of footsteps were heard entering the room. It then stopped in front of Nagi's location. _Please don't open it._ she thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her could feel her heart beating wildly and sweat formed in her hands and forehead.  
"You can come out now." Tsuna's voice calls out. Nagi sighs in relief and opens the lid of the chest she was hiding in. She took in a deep breath of fresh air, happy that they were finally gone. "Th-Thanks for helping me." she says to Tsuna. She steps out of the box, and rushes to exit the room. "Wait!" Tsuna exclaims. He hands Nagi her bag and a now refilled pouch of water, "We promised, didn't we?" he says. The girl smiles and takes the items, "Thank you."  
"Do you have to leave so soon?" Tsuna's mother asks, standing at the room's door.  
"I don't want to put you in anymore danger than I already have." says Nagi. The woman smiles sadly and hugs Nagi, "I hope we can meet again." she says. She then lets go, still grasping the girl's shoulders, "Not all of you are bad after all."  
Nagi felt happy yet sad inside. There were people like this who existed. The kind where they would do no harm to those who were different.

Once she said her final goodbyes, Nagi journeyed on into the woods in search of her sanctuary. The only problem was there were no stars to follow in the day. _What do I do now?_ she thought in despair. Nagi stops in her tracks. It would be hours before the skies became dark.

 _"Follow the path."_

Suddenly, a bunch of the white glowing flowers from before bloomed beside her feet. Nagi jumps back in surprise. The purple gem she wore was now glowing as well.

 _"Go on, don't be afraid."_

Nagi hesitates for a second but decides to follow the flowers. With each step she takes, more flowers started to emerge from the ground, leading her closer to her destination. As she followed the flowers, Nagi noticed that she was walking into a dark part of the woods. The sound of birds was no longer there and barely any sunlight touched the forest floor. Sure, she felt scared, but Nagi had to keep moving. The flower petals now stood out in the darkness, like little orbs of light guiding her to safety. Their soft glow calmed the girl as she walked; it was like everything was going to be fine.

The sound of a twig snapping reaches Nagi's ears. Her eyes widened in fear, "Wh-Who's there?" she asks. Had someone followed her here? The sound of leaves rustling made her even more scared. It felt like every part of her body was refusing to move when her mind desperately told her to run or do something. In the corner of her vision, Nagi saw a bush move. She whips her head in the direction of the plant and tightly clutches the strap of her bag. A few seconds later, a tiny dog with pointy ears emerges from behind the bush and makes its way to Nagi. _It's only a dog._ she thought, feeling embarrassed.

The dog sat in front of her, its short tail wagging excitedly behind it. "W-What is it?" the girl asks, crouching down to the dog's level. She scratches it behind the ear, earning a cute look from the canine. Then, it suddenly started to growl and bark wildly for some unknown reason. "Is something wrong?" Nagi asks as she tilts her head in confusion.  
A hard object hits the back of Nagi's head, making her fall unconscious.

* * *

 _Where am I? Just a moment ago I was following a path of flowers and then I suddenly blacked out._

Nagi tries to move her arms and legs, only to find that they were stuck to her body. _What?_

"Hey, she's awake!"

Nagi's eyes open at the voice. She groaned from the throbbing sensation and pain coming from the back of her head. Looking around, she sees the faces of the people who visitied Tsuna's house before. She then looks down to see that she was tied up against a wooden pillar with a pile of logs beneath her feet. She was captured. Nagi panics and squirms, hoping that the ropes would miraculously come loose. "You think that you could get away did you?" a man who must have been the leader of the group says, "Well you thought wrong." He and the people around him started to laugh at the girl, calling her names and throwing insults at her. Nagi tried to use her powers to get her out like the last time with her mother, but nothing happened. Her powers came at the most unpredictable times. Sometimes it worked, but sometimes it did not.

 _"A little predicament we have over here."_ the all too familiar voice rang in Nagi's mind  
 _Who are you?_ Nagi thought in an attempt to communicate with it.  
 _"You'll know soon enough."_

The leader raises his hand, signaling for everyone to stay silent so he could speak. "Sorry if it isn't fancy enough like the other witches. We're in the middle of the forest and all so there's nothing much we could do." he says, "Maybe if you didn't run, it would be a whole lot easier."  
Nagi felt like the rope was biting into her skin. She could barely breathe because they were tied so tight. "I didn't think that we would capture you right on the second day to be honest, you can thank your dog friend back there for that." the man continues. _That's why it was growling._

"I think that you are a really sweet girl, Nagi. But unfortunately, I have to do what's right and get rid of you for the safety of others." the man says. One of his friends hands him an already lit torch, making the people cheer on happily. This only made Nagi panic and thrash within her bonds even more. She soon gave, feeling hopeless. _I'm going to die here._ she thinks as the torch got closer to the wood pile. _I'm scared._ It was over now.

As the man was about to set fire to the logs, hundreds of crows suddenly flew out from the trees and came swooping down upon everyone. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed as some of the crows pecked at him. The birds then started to attack the others as well. "It's that witch! Burn her!" a man yells as he waved his arms in the air wildly.  
"This should be impossible, we already put a seal so she wouldn't use her powers!" a lady shouts.  
"JUST KILL HER ALREADY." someone shouts.  
The whole place was in utter chaos. People were running everywhere and bumping into each other. Some were lying on the ground covering their faces to protect themselves. Screams of pain started to echo through the forest.

 _I'm not doing this._ Nagi wanted to say. She could only watch with fearful eyes at the scene unraveling before here. The leader was too busy swatting away crows that he failed to notice that his torch had fallen out of his grip. The flame rolls over to the pile of logs, making Nagi terrified. The wood started to gradually catch fire as she tried to move away from the flames. It spread so fast that it started to burn parts of her feet, making the girl cry out in pain.

 _"Don't worry little one."_

The ropes binding her to the wooden pillar suddenly became loose, like something had cut them from behind. Nagi took this opportunity to escape the burning wood and run. Her cloak had caught fire while getting out so she quickly discarded it. Now left with her white dress and pendant, Nagi ran as fast as she could while everybody was still distracted. In mere seconds, the execution ground had become nothing more than a blur of black and orange.  
The girl's heart was pounding and she felt like her lungs would explode at any moment. Only complete darkness enveloped her as she entered an unknown part of the woods.

Even though she was sure no one was following, Nagi kept running. It felt like her life depended on it. The voice in her head was not there to guide her anymore, and the only source of light was the pale glow of the moon.  
After a while, Nagi slows down into a walk. She was breathing heavily and sweat had now formed on her back and forehead. There were no signs of the white flowers anywhere since the pendant did not glow anymore. Nagi walks over to a tree and leans against it. "Where do I go now?" she softly says, sighing in exhaustion. The sky was cloudy so it was impossible to follow any stars. Everything just seemed so hopeless. She felt like all the things that happened up until now were just because of luck.

"There you are you little brat." a man's voice says. Nagi turns to the side in surprise. All of them were supposed to be distracted by the crows and fire right now. "You think that little trick back there was enough to stop me eh?"  
Looking closely, Nagi noticed that it was the leader. Only this time, his clothes were charred and skin black with soot. The man's hair was all messed up and he looked really pissed off. There was something in the man's hands that shined in the darkness. Nagi's eyes widen when she realized what it was, earning a sadistic grin from the leader. "If burning you is not enough, then I'll take care of you myself!"  
Nagi dodges a swing of the axe-wielding man. The blade gets stuck in the tree trunk she was just leaning on, giving her a little time to run while the man tries to pry the weapon out. "You can run little girl, but you can't escape your fate!" she hears the man shout. The girl ducks under tree branches and climbed over a fallen tree as she tried to escape the man. She did not care about what part of the woods she was travelling to, just as long as she was safe, it was fine.

Since it was too dark to see anything, Nagi could not really see where she was going. In the midst of her confusion, Nagi lost her footing and tumbled down a steep hill. She then lands on her side and continues to roll down the hill until she hit a rock.  
The force of the impact knocked the air out of Nagi's lungs and she gasped in pain. Her vision started darken, but she could still hear the yells of the man who was chasing her. It seems as though he had no clue where Nagi was and ran past her location. _Thank goodness…_ she thought as her eyes slowly start to close. Her entire body ached and she could not find the strength to move.

 _"Kufufu. Rest for now little one, you're safe."_

Nagi could barely make out the faint glow of the purple gem that hung from her neck and the shadow of a person standing a few feet away.

* * *

Nagi shifted a little in her bed. _It was just a dream?_ she thought. The bed she lay on was soft and comfy, unlike her old bed. The smell was different too. Nagi's eyes slowly opened. This was not her home. It was not any place she was familiar with in fact. The girl tries to get up, but falls back from the pain that surged throughout her body. Her head was what hurt the most. _Where am I?_

"I see you're awake."

Nagi slowly sits up this time, resting her back on the headboard. To her right, there was a boy who looked slightly older than her. He had eyes each of a different color, one blue and one red. His dark blue hair was tied in a strange hairstyle, sort of like a fruit Nagi once saw in the market the other day. "Wh-Where am I?" Nagi stutters. When she looked down, her bandages were replaced by brand new ones.  
The boy chuckles, "We don't actually have a name for it, but it's a place for people like you and I." he says.  
"You were the one communicating with me."  
"Indeed I was."

Nagi felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She made it. She was safe at last. "Thank you she says to the boy."  
Suddenly, the door to the room bursts open, revealing a blonde boy with a scar across the bridge of his nose, a boy with dark blue hair wearing glasses and a hat, and a girl with short red hair. "Hey, I told you not to eavesdrop on them!" the girl exclaims.  
"I told to stay out of it byon!" the blonde says.  
The boy in the glasses stayed quiet. Now that she looked at him, the boy had strange markings on one of his cheeks.  
"I can't believe I saved a puny girl like you for the sake of Mukuro-sama." the blonde says as he stared in disgust at Nagi. He did not see how a girl like her could have superior powers like his leader.  
"You were the one who cut the ropes for me?" Chrome asks the blonde.  
"Who else would it be?" he spat back.  
"Thank you." the girl says, ignoring the boy's rudeness. Her words made the blonde blush a little, "Don't get too confident, I was only following Mukuro-sama's orders."  
"I think Ken has taking a liking to her." the boy in glasses says.  
"Shut up Chikusa! I don't!"  
"It's fine as long as she doesn't steal Mukuro away from me." the red headed girl says.

"Kufufu, welcome home, Nagi." the boy who is known as Mukuro says while the other three were arguing at the door. Nagi smiles a little, "Thank you, Mukuro-sama."


	3. III Iemitsu

"These witches are becoming a big problem." old man Timoteo grumbles as he sat in his seat.  
"What do you suggest we do, Ninth?" Iemitsu asks from his position in front of Timoteo. He was kneeling in front of him as a sign of respect to the older man. Timoteo pinches the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, deep in thought. It has been a year since the witch hunt began, yet the number of witches did not go down a bit. In fact, the number of witches have increased over time. Many innocent lives have been lost as a result. People all over the country now live in fear every day due to the fact that their very neighbors could be witches as well.  
"We should create a separate group to specifically fight these witches. Give them special training and such." one of Timoteo's guardian says.  
"That doesn't sound so bad." anoher guardian  
"But who will be willing to volunteer after so many people have died?" Timoteo says worriedly. Those who were in the room except for Iemitsu started murmuring to each other. They did not have many people to help defend against the witches anymore. Even after all this time, nobody knew what their weaknesses were. The only thing that they did to witches was burn them at the stake, which seemed like the most effective way so far.  
"I think I know someone who can help." Iemitsu says. The whole then suddenly becomes silent. Timoteo and his guardians were listening. "He's someone who has had...an experience with witches and has been researching on them since." Iemitsu explains.

Some of the guardians were taken aback at this. "Don't tell me you're talking about that guy." one says.  
"He's a mad man!" another protests. Pretty soon everyone started arguing with each other about the guy Iemitsu was talking about. "Ninth, what do you think?"  
Old man Timoteo straightens up in his seat and exhales. "We have no other choice, these witches are starting to get out of control." he says, "I'll leave this task to you, Iemitsu."  
The man lowers his head, "Yes, Ninth."


	4. IV Nagi

_Has it really been one year already?_ Nagi thought as she sat by the large window in her room, staring out into the forest. The girl's hair was now cut short into a style similar to Mukuro's. She was very grateful to him and the others for saving her that day. Since then, the mansion had gained four new people. Two of them were strange twins who did not look so human, one was an old man who kept a large number of little yellow birds with him, and the other was a man that she had not met as of yet since it seemed that he spends his time outside the mansion a lot.

Staying in the mansion made Nagi realize that the people here had different abilities. She also found out that her powers were the same as Mukuro's, just that he was better at using them than she was.

"I wonder how Sousuke is doing. Tsuna and his mother too." she says softly. These were the only people who did not hate her for what she is. As she stared at the trees swaying in the breeze, Nagi absentmindedly held the pendant that Sousuke had given her a year ago. The purple gem seemed like it was glowing, trying to compete with the brightness outside.

"Oi!" Ken's voice sounds from behind the large wooden door, followed by a series of bangs. Without Nagi's consent, the boy barges into the room. "W-What is it?" Nagi utters as she jumped a little in her seat at the sudden intrusion. Ken walked up to the girl and looks down at her in annoyance. His white button up shirt was covered in dirt from doing God knows what. Chikusa always claimed that Ken had been going around digging the ground like a dog, only to be replied with a flurry of insults and protests from the boy. "Mukuro-sama needs us for a meeting." he spat. Nagi only nodded as she stood up from he place besides the window. Ken went on and exited the room, not caring whether she would follow or not. After getting her cloak, she walked behind the boy timidly and fumbled with the fabric of the piece of clothing. They were somehow able to retrieve Nagi's cloak from the chaos that happened a year ago, but it was burned at the bottom from coming into contact with fire.

Also, over the past year, it seemed like Ken and M.M did not get along with her as much as the others. The reason is still unknown to Nagi though.

The pair reached two large doors with two golden handles. Ken pushes on one of them, revealing a lounge with multiple luxurious chairs. Red curtains embroidered with golden thread were draped on the windows and an unlit chandelier hung from the ceiling. "She's here, Mukuro-sama." Ken says as he entered the room.  
Nagi looks around the room and sees M.M. sitting close to Mukuro on a couch. The twins were standing behind the old man, known as Birds, and twitching every now and then. Ken took a seat next to Chikusa who wore his signature neutral expression. Nagi walked to a chair and sat alone. "It seems that Lancia isn't here today, as usual." Birds says as a yellow bird landed on his shoulder.  
"We'll just let him be for now." Mukuro says, "I have something I would like to discuss with all of you."

Everybody in the room listened attentively. It was very rare that Mukuro himself would want to talk with all of them about something, especially like this. Nagi herself was nervous inside. Mukuro smirks before speaking, "According to my sources, something very interesting is going to happen." he says, "It seems as though the king plans to eliminate people like us, though I am not sure how as of yet."  
This was not surprising news, a lot of people want to eliminate the witches. But Mukuro would not have brought it up if it was not something serious. "Mukuro-sama, isn't it normal for people to try to kill us?" Ken asks.  
"Kufufu, that may be, but this is different." Mukuro says.  
"How?" Chikusa questions.  
"The king's men are seeking out a certain man for help, someone special." the boy answers. _Who is he talking about?_ though Nagi. "Oho, you couldn't be talking about that blood thirsty witch hunter are you?" Birds says, smiling slyly.  
"What do you know about this person, byon?" Ken demanded. Birds cackles loudly while the twins cocked their heads at abnormal angles. "Only the most cruel witch hunter there is. Viktor. What I know so far is that he captures witches to torture them to death, some rumors say that he even sells them for...service."  
 _That's horrible..._ Nagi thought as she listened.  
"Kufufu, so that's how it is." said Mukuro. The boy gets up from his seat and walks out of the room, "You are all dismissed, we won't be doing anything for now." he says as he exited. Nagi stared at him as he closed the doors. "What is Mukuro-sama planning?" she says quietly. M.M. soon follows Mukuro, looking at Nagi in disgust before walking out. _Did I do something wrong?_


	5. V Tsuna

Tsuna jumped out of his bed once he heard a scream from his mother. "Mom?! What happened?!" he yelled as he zipped out his room and into the kitchen where he think his mother was. The boy's heart was beating at an extremely fast rate and he was wide awake despite just waking up. "Mom!" Tsuna shouted as he turned to the kitchen. Before him was a sight that would have made him scream as well if he had the strength.  
"Oh, Tsu-kun! Look, Papa's home!" his mother says very cheerfully as she took hold of Iemitsu's arm.  
"Eeeeeh?!" was all that Tsuna managed to let out.

* * *

How long has it been since his father's last visit? Four years? Maybe a little more than that. Tsuna and his parents were sitting at the table eating lunch. The brunette barely had a bite of his food while the two adults chatted happily. "I miss Nana's food so much!" the father says while still chewing his food.  
"Swallow before speaking Papa!" the mother says as she giggled.  
Tsuna felt more shock than happiness, he thought that his father would never come back. He lost all hope a long time ago. "So what brings you back?" his mother asked, looking at her husband with big curious eyes.  
"I just really miss my family." Iemitsu says, "And I needed a break from working in the coal mines as well."  
"Ah, I see, it must have been really cold to be working in the north. Anyway, it's great to have you back."

Tsuna did not really listen in on their conversation after that. He ate quietly as he was still processing the return of his long lost father. "Tsuna." he hears his father say. Tsuna quickly turned his head towards the man, "W-What is it?"  
"I would like to talk to you after this."  
"M-Me?" Tsuna points to himself. His father nods, a smile making its way to his face. The brunette sweat drops. _I have a feeling something bad's going to happen._

* * *

Once they were all done with lunch, Tsuna and Iemitsu went of to the boy's room to discuss something in private. "Your room still hasn't changed." Iemitsu comments as he looked around the room. The bed's blanket was strewn across the floor from Tsuna's panic earlier. "S-So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Tsuna.  
His father does not answer at first, but instead picks up the fallen blanket and puts it neatly on the bed. He then sits down, giving Tsuna a serious look. "Tsuna, I believe you know about witches and the witch hunt by now." he asks.  
The boy's mind flashes back to when he saved Nagi from a whole group of witch hunters who were searching his house. Tsuna nods.  
"You see, our situation hasn't been getting any better, in fact, it's worse than before."  
"Why are you telling me this?" Tsuna asks. Of course he knew about the lives that were lost every day because of witches. Everybody did. But he also knew that not all of them were wicked like what most people thought.  
"The king is looking for special people to fight the witches." Iemitsu says, "And I've been assigned to gather these people."  
Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. The king? His father had to gather people to fight? _Oh_. Tsuna thought as he connected the dots. His eyes widen in bewilderment. "Eeh?! D-Dad, you work for the king?!" he asks. His father nods. "And you're coming to me because you want me to fight witches?!" Another nod.

Tsuna would have passed out on the spot from all this new information being thrown at him all at once. "I can't fight at all! You've come to the wrong person for help." he says. Tsuna knew very well that he was a clumsy no good boy with no friends. Just the idea of him fighting a witch was ridiculous beyond measure. His father smirked at this. "Tsuna, you may not know it yet, but you have something special within you." the man says, "If you would like to find out, I suggest that you come with me."  
The brunette stared at his father as if he had gone insane. Something special within him? Yeah right. But the more he thought about it, the more curious he became. If Tsuna went with his father, that would mean he might have to hurt witches who were innocent like Nagi against his will. He did not want to do that. In fact, he did not want to hurt anyone, witch or not. But what if he was really special somehow? Would people appreciate and respect him more? _That would mean leaving mom alone here though, I don't want that._

"Dad, I appreciate your offer and all, but I don't think that I'm the person you're looking for." Tsuna says, trying to reject the invitation as politely as possible.  
Iemitsu smiled and sighed in defeat, "It's all right, Tsuna, I don't want to force you." he says and got up, "I'll be going then."  
"Wait! This is all you came back for? You're going to leave just like that?"  
"I still have to gather people."  
"But what about mom? Won't she be sad if you left so quickly?"  
"I'll think of something. Tsuna, keep this whole thing a secret all right? And take care of Nana for me."  
And with that, his father was out the door, leaving Tsuna alone yet again.


	6. VI Viktor

Viktor giggled gleefully as his little guinea pig screamed again. The guinea pig being the witch he captured a few days ago that is. "You can scream all you want, no one's going to save you~" Viktor mused as he looked in satisfaction at his work. The little girl's screaming was just music to his ears. Witches are a wretched existence after all, indeed they are. Even death is too good for them.

"Please kill me..." the little girl who was strapped to a table before him whimpers. Her eyes were dull, and there was no will to live within her anymore. This just made Viktor shiver in delight. "Oh little witch, the fun is just beginning!" Viktor says, lauging and clapping like a child despite his old age. As he was about to prepare for his next set of experiments, his faithful servant knocks on his door.

"Master Viktor, there are two guests who request to see you." he says.  
Viktor scoffs in annoyance, "Tell them to go away, come another day! I'm very busy as you can see!"  
"But they have been sent here by the king." the butler says, looking unfazed by the scene before him.  
"Oh?" the old man says, turning on his heel to face his butler. He had his attention now. "Well what are you waiting for you nit wit, why didn't you tell me sooner? Shoo! Off you go! Fetch the lovely fellows!" he excitedly says, jumping up and down while pointing to the door his servant just came from. The servant bows, "Yes Master Viktor." he said and walked out.

Viktor looks back to his specimen on the table, "Isn't it exciting? The king is interested in me! Finally, all my work has paid off." he says, "You know what? I'll spare you for today, let's continue tomorrow my little rat." This made the witch whimper in fear. Death was more preferable than having her life spared another day.  
With that, the old man left the room, leaving the witch alone. He exited his lab and walked up the stairs to the main part of his house.

As the man walked through the halls of his spacious house, he passed a decorative mirror that hung on a wall, "My, my, what a beautiful mess I am." he mused as he stared at his reflection. His clothes were now completely blood stained. There were splatters of blood on his face as well. His hair that ended at the level of his chin was almost like a bird's nest. Nevertheless, he was satisfied. He was slowly ridding the world of witches one by one, it was for a good cause. "Just imagine, my name going down in the books. The man who eliminated a revolting species off the face of the earth." he said, sighing in content. The old man laughs and struck a pose, stroking his nonexistent beard, staring at his handsome self in the mirror. "Sir the guests are in the lounge waiting for your arrival." Viktor's servant says as he stood and bowed behind him.  
"Ah, Theodore! Thank you for reminding me, go prepare tea for them while I go...fix my appearance." the master said, gesturing to his bloody self.  
"As you wish sir."

Viktor continued to walk down the hall until he reached his room at the end of the long hallway. He entered, the door squeaking as he walked in. _Hm, I better ask Theodore to fix that later._ He closes the door and walks over to his closet to get out a fresh set of clothes. It was not really any different from the ones he was wearing right now. A simple white button up shirt and brown trousers were what most of them are. "Look at you Viktor." the man says to himself as he caught his reflection in the mirror while removing his shirt. The scars from his childhood were still there along his back.

 _Now be a good boy and stay quiet, okay?_

Viktor shivers a little. Just thinking of that time manged to make him feel as if the scars on his back were fresh wounds. _Damned woman, you still continue to haunt me to this day._ he thought, gritting his teeth. Viktor took in a deep breath before changing to a new set of clothes and smoothed out his graying hair. "Can't keep the guests waiting now, can we?"

* * *

"Welcome, gentlemen." Viktor said as he walked into the lounge to meet two of the king's guardian's who wore suits, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"  
"Viktor..." one of the king's guardians start, "We need your help."  
"Oh? With what Sir Coyote Nougat?" Viktor asks, acting innocently as he sat on a chair. The table in front of them held three tea cups and a teapot of earl grey tea. The man known as Coyote Nougat was as old as the Ninth himself. He had long hair that reached his shoulders and a think mustache that looked like a broom in Viktor's opinion. He also had a left arm made of metal. Peculiar.  
"I think you may already know." another guardian says. This guardian looked younger and skinnier compared to Coyote Nougat. He had hair that covered one eye and a tattoo of a lizard on the left side of his face. His name was Brow Nie Jr. _It's curious how their names come from desserts._ Viktor thought, smiling to himself.  
"Hm...?" Viktor sounds as he drank from his cup of tea.  
"The king wants to gather people to fight back the witches." the Coyote Nougat said, "Special people."  
"And what does this have to do with me? Seeing as you rejected my offer last time." asks Viktor who started to add way too much sugar to his tea.  
"We want you to help train these people." Brow Nie Jr. says.  
Viktor stops mid stir once the sentence reached his ears, "Excuse me?"  
Coyote Nougat sighs in irritation, "We need you, Viktor, to help in this battle between us humans and witches."

Viktor smiles widely. Oh what a joyous day! Joy, joy, joy! "Why of course my honorable guests of course! I accept and forgive you for your past mistakes." he says.  
"The-" Brow Nie Jr. was cut off by Viktor. "But you have to let me do my way." the old man interrupts. The two guardians seemed taken aback by this. "Oh, but I'm fine if you don't want to do it, I guess you just have to find someone else." Viktor says.  
Brow Nie Jr. shifts uncomfortably in his seat. _You won't risk losing me this time, would you?_ Viktor says in his head as he continued to smile victoriously at his guests.  
"We'll allow it for now, but you'll have to discuss this with his majesty once more." Coyote Nougat says, surrendering to Viktor's offer. His smile was probably as wide as the Cheshire cat's by now, "Thank you for understanding, gentlemen."

* * *

A/N : Hey guy, Usamimi here! I was thinking that I might change the rating of this story from T to M in the future because of how violent/gory it might get in later chapters. It's still not sure yet so don't worry!

As always, stay tuned for the next update,  
Usamimi out!


	7. VII Iemitsu

"No luck yet again." Iemitsu sighed as he walked through town. This was the third time someone had rejected his offer, including his own son. The second person he approached was the son of a fisherman. He had refused because he wanted to help his old man with his business while pursuing a career in some sport that Iemitsu had already forgotten the name of.  
The third person was a fighter who showed a lot of promise. Except that he was more dedicated to boxing rather that fighting witches. Iemitsu sighs again, leaning against a wall for support, putting his hands in his coat pockets. He had been out for two days yet he had not made a tiny bit of progress on his mission. _Just when I thought it would be an easy task.._

"Hey you little punk, you gotta problem with us?" a man says to someone. Iemitsu could not see who the man was talking to because of his huge body blocking his view. "You're the one who bumped into me so shouldn't I be the one asking that?" the person the man was threatening argued back.  
"Huh? You rich people are always like that. Always thinking you're right and looking down on other people. Besides, I'm older than you so shouldn't you be respecting me? It really pisses me off!  
"I don't see why I should respect thick headed idiots like you." the other said, clearly not afraid of the large man before him.  
"Why you little shit!"

Iemitsu lost interest in the scene unfolding in front of him and decided to walk away. _How troublesome_ he thought. It was common for fights like this to occur in town, it was pathetic really. Besides, the person the man was talking two would be torn to shreds. Most people from higher classes in society lacked self defense skills, their only power being money.

Suddenly, Iemitsu heard a yell of pain. When Iemitsu turned around, the man from before was lying against a wall completely knocked out. "Tch, bastard." the person he was fighting says. He had silver hair and green eyes and was dressed in a white dress shirt, black pants, and wore knee high boots while carrying his crimson coat over his shoulder. The boy did not have a single scratch or bruise on him, which was surprising considering how strong his opponent looked. "Hm, in just a few moments? Impressive." Iemitsu mused as he walked up behind him.  
The boy noticed and turned around to face Iemitsu, "What the hell do you want?" he spat.  
"Tough one aren't we? I would like to talk to you about something."

* * *

"So you want me to help the king fight against the witches?" the boy whose name was Gokudera asks Iemitsu.  
"Yes." the older man says. He would not be so surprised now if he got rejected. It was silent between the two, Gokudera looked like he was contemplating on his decision. Iemitsu sighs as he took another chug from his pint of beer. They were in a bar that was pretty empty at the moment, though they were getting stares from the waitresses and customers. Two people of high class drinking in a bar for the common folk was indeed a rare sight to behold. "I'll do it." Gokudera says, making the man almost choke on his drink. "What was that again?"  
"I said that I'll do it."  
By now, Iemitsu was smiling like an idiot. "Hey waitress! Another two pints over here." Iemitsu calls out to a lady working at the counter.  
"Oi, old man. How many times do I have to say that I don't want to drink your shitty beer?" Gokudera protests.  
"Now, now, nothing bad's going to happen from a little drink, cheer's!" Iemitsu says, lifting his cup.  
"You're not listening to me you bastard!"


	8. VIII Nagi

Nagi was walking around the mansion, looking for something to do; anything that could keep her mind off the meeting. _Why do people hate us so much?_

"Nagi."

She turned around to see who was calling for her. "M-Mukuro-sama?" she uttered.

There was a mysterious glint in the boy's eyes. Well, if not, then it wouldn't be Mukuro, would it?

"Follow me." he said, turning around and walking off. Nagi nodded and followed close behind. The way was silent with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the halls.

"How are you so far?" Mukuro asked, not bothering to look back at Nagi.  
"I'm doing fine, Mukuro-sama." she answered back.  
"Kufu, I see."

The two reached a door that led outside. Mukuro opens the door, revealing a garden filled with pure white flowers. It was if she stepped into a world where only a few colors existed. A pleasant yet subtle sweet scent filled the air, it was not sickening like some of the gardens she visited before. The trees themselves had silver-gray branches and white leaves. "Beautiful..." she softly let out.  
"Come here, Nagi."

The girl walked to Mukuro who was standing under one of the trees. "I need to tell you something." Mukuro says. She looks up at him with wide amethyst eyes. "What is it, Mukuro-sama?"  
"I have the impression that we won't be safe here for long. They will find this place eventually."  
"Mukuro-sama, what do you mean? Who are _they_?"  
The mystery in Mukuro's eyes were replaced with seriousness. Whatever he was talking about, it was something big.  
"We will have to fight the witch hunters sent by the king."

Nagi's heart dropped at the news. How could that be? It was virtually impossible to find this place if you were a regular person, witch hunter or not.

"What are we going to do?" she said fearfully. If they can break through the barrier, then they surely were a threat.  
"All of us are going to fight." Mukuro says, "If we fail, I want you to take the others and get as far away from this place as possible."  
"Eh- What about you, Mukuro-sama?!"  
"Kufufu, I'll hold them off one way or another."

Nagi could not believe what was happening. She didn't want to believe it. This place was her home, a safe haven for many people like her. She refused to believe that it was all going to be taken away.

"It's all right Nagi." said Mukuro, snapping her out of her swirl of thoughts, "We'll be able to meet again when that happens." He reaches out a hand and tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Un.." Nagi averted her eyes from Mukuro's and looked at the ground instead.

When she looked up, Mukuro had already vanished from sight. _Keep this a secret between the two of us for now._ his voiced echoed in her mind.


	9. IX Tsuna

_Geez, why's today so bizarre?_ Tsuna thought as he walked to the fisherman's shop. His mother was still busy at home with the chores so Tsuna was assigned with the task of going grocery shopping. It seemed that the lady was not saddened by her husband's sudden departure. _What kind of father is he anyway? Leaving his wife and son alone for years and only coming back for an instant._ Tsuna rambled on in his head. _He never even bothered to keep in touch! Writing a single letter once in a while doesn't hurt._

The brunette soon reached the docks where the shop is supposed to be. There were a few ships here and there and some small boats were clumped up in a group. The air smelled of the salty sea, which was refreshing to Tsuna having stayed in the forest for most of his life. The crystal blue waters reflected the sky and the sun above. If you looked closely, you could see little fish swimming around.

"Haha! Catch me if you can slow poke!" a kid said as he ran past Tsuna.

"Hey, that's no fair, you know I'm not as fast as you!" another kid protests. He pushed past Tsuna, unaware of the fact that it would cause him to fall into the waters below.

"Whoa!" Tsuna shrieked as he braced himself, though the problem was that he didn't know how to swim at all. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the moment when he would crash into the sea, but the moment never came. "Hey, are you all right?" an unfamiliar voice said.

Tsuna looked up and saw a tall boy with spiky raven hair and dark brown eyes, holding him by his arm. The boy's skin was tan compared to Tsuna's pale tone. He wore nothing but a pair of pants that reached his knees and had a cloth wrapped around his forehead.

"I-I'm fine, thanks." Tsuna replied, standing up straight and moving away from the edge of the platform he was on.

"That's good" the boy said, letting go of Tsuna's arm, "Are you new here? I've never seen you before."  
"Yeah, it's my first time here. Usually it's my mother who goes out to get supplies." Tsuna replied.  
"Hahaha, I see." the other replied and held out a hand, "Yamamoto Takeshi, nice to meet you!"  
"S-Sawada Tsuna." the brunette replied, shaking Yamamoto's hand.

"So, what are you looking for?" Yamamoto asks.  
"Uh, fish, I guess.." Tsuna says.  
Yamamoto's eyes lit up, "Oh, that's a coincidence! I'll take you to my old man's shop right around here, follow me."  
"Oh, uh, thanks."

Tsuna knew better than to follow a stranger around, but something in him said that Yamamoto could be trusted. And so, Tsuna walked along with the happy-go-lucky Yamamoto Takeshi. As they made their way through the docks, Yamamoto greeted some of the shopkeepers along the way. They seemed to like him, even those who looked grouchy. You could also tell that he was popular with the girls from the numerous glances and stares he got. _I didn't know you could be this popular with people._ Tsuna thought as he followed the boy.

"Oi, Takeshi! What's taking you so long?" a man in the distance shouted and waved his hands at Tsuna and Yamamoto.  
"Ah, old man, sorry about that!" Yamamoto responded and ran up to his father, "I was helping a new friend."

Tsuna sheepishly smiled and waved at the man, "Sawada Tsuna sir, i-it's nice to meet you." he said.  
"Sawada? You don't happen to be Nana's son do you?" the old man asked. He looked like Yamamoto, except there were signs of age on his face.  
"You know my mom?" Tsuna asked in surprise.  
"Of course! She's one of by best customers, come, I'll give you a special discount!"  
"Eh! Y-You don't have to-"  
"Nonsense, Nana-san has helped us a lot through the years." the old man countered.

"Just let it be, Tsuna. It's hard to change his mind once he's decided on something." Yamamoto says, putting an arm around Tsuna.  
 _You guys are way too nice..._ Tsuna thought and sweat dropped.

* * *

Before Tsuna was a gigantic amount of fish caught fresh from the ocean. He could hardly believe that so many kinds of fish existed in the first place. _What was the one mom wanted again?_ Tsuna said to himself, completely dumbfounded. "Go on and pick whatever you want." urged Yamamoto.  
"U-Uh, which one's the fish my mother gets?" Tsuna asks. For some reason he felt uncomfortable with the dead stares he was getting from the fish.  
"Oh, you mean this one?" Yamamoto's father grabs a fish by the tail and raises it for Tsuna to see.  
"I guess so?" Tsuna says.  
"Great, I'll give you two extra!" the old man says, grabbing two more fish.  
"It's all right, really-"

Yamamoto's father gives a threatening glare to Tsuna. "T-Thank you.." Tsuna finally gave in.

* * *

Tsuna with his three fish all wrapped up in leaves, walked home accompanied by Yamamoto. The boy wanted to make sure that Tsuna wouldn't get into another accident like earlier.

"You! Young men!" a man stepped in front of them as they were walking, "How would you like to join the witch hunt? We're currently looking for new members."  
"N-No, thank you." Tsuna says.  
"I'll pass." Yamamoto says.

The man sighs and walks off to look for more people who might be willing to join.

"That's the second person who's asked me about that." said Yamamoto as he and Tsuna continued walking.  
"Second?" questioned Tsuna.  
"Yeah, some guy came up to me and asked me to fight witches, except he said it was for the king or something like that."

 _Is he talking about dad?_

"So did you accept?" the brunette asked, somewhat curious.  
"Well, I rejected his offer." Yamamoto said, "I figured that I wouldn't be suitable to perform in a play, hahahaha!"

 _He's totally clueless!_


	10. X Viktor

"Your majesty, it's an honor to finally meet you in person." Viktor said. He put a hand over his chest and bowed as a sign of respect.

"The same to you Viktor." Timoteo says from his throne, "I am pleased to know of your eagerness to help us with this witch predicament."

The guardians who were stationed around the king seemed uneasy having Viktor around. People who have heard of him would know that he was a little...not right in the head. Who knows what lengths he would go to in order to achieve his ultimate goal.

Viktor smirked at their reactions. He took pride in the fear people had for him; a ruthless blood thirsty witch hunter. So what if he wasn't right in the head? Insanity makes you do things that others wouldn't even think of doing. That's what made him so successful. That's what allowed him to get this far. Why shouldn't he be proud of his insanity?

"I take that you've heard of my requirements?" asks Viktor, though he already knew the answer.  
"I have." the king replied, "But I'm afraid that I can't let you do as you please."

Viktor's eye twitched in irritation. He can't lose his temper now, not after making it this far. "Why not, your majesty?"

King Timoteo looked at him sternly, "I cannot let you do things your way because I worry for the safety of the trainees." he said.  
"How about we make a deal, your majesty?" Viktor quickly says. The king kept silent, letting his audience continue, "I vow that the recruits will not be harmed under my care. No deaths guaranteed. And if it does come to that, you may have your way with me." he offered.

Everyone in the room still felt a sense of doubt in his words. Some glanced around the throne room nervously while others stayed still with an uncomfortable expression upon their faces.

It was silent in the room. The tension was so thick it was almost suffocating.

 _Come on already._ Viktor said in his head.

"As you wish." Timoteo finally said after considering his choices.

Viktor couldn't help but smile in delight. All according to plan. "My profuse thanks, your majesty. I look forward to working with you." he says.

"I'm sorry Ninth, but have you gone mad?" one of the king's guardians snapped. He was a middle aged man with black hair; the tips at the front were blonde. He had a stubble beard and looked like one of the youngest among the guardians.  
"Ganauche, it's our only option left." the king says, closing his eyes, "Viktor, if you break your vow, you will face the death penalty."

Viktor was unfazed by the sudden outburst. He was too distracted by the special plans he had in mind for the recruits. Oh how his happy day got even happier! "No problem." he sang cheerfully, "My first request is that I choose the recruits myself."  
"We already sent someone to do that." Timoteo says.  
"Oh, no worries. I don't want them wasting their time doing _my_ work." Viktor said, waving his hand dismissively.

He _had_ to choose the people himself. They had to be willing enough to go through what Viktor had in store them. He cannot have some pansy who is too much of a coward to risk their life to save humanity. It would be a waste of time and resources. Viktor wanted someone who is willing to risk everything for the power he will bestow upon them. "Is it too much of a hassle my king?" Viktor asks.

Surely it wasn't, it was just calling someone back and handing over their job to him. How hard could it be?

"Bouche." the king called to one of his guardians. The guardian was a man with dark skin and apparently had no eyebrows. He had red hair that was tied back in a braid. Once knowing his orders, he exited the throne room.

"Viktor, you will be staying here in the castle until this is all over." Timoteo says.  
"I thank you for your kind offer your majesty, but I prefer staying in my own home." Viktor says. He didn't want to stay here. Not away from his lab. It just won't do if he were to live the next days without it! Though he did favor the idea of having lavish meals in the palace dining hall. _That will have to wait._ Viktor said to himself. "As much as I'd like to stay, I have to take leave now, your honor."  
"Why the hurry?" the king asks.  
"To gather our new recruits of course. Time waits for no man." Viktor answered and bowed.

He left the room, escorted by two knights. _Oh how much fun this is going to be!_


	11. XI Iemitsu

Now Iemitsu was getting frustrated. The result from hours of trying to convince people to join the witch hunt? Nothing.

"Oi, old man, how long more are you going to drag me around with you?" Gokudera asked, sounding more pissed than anything.

Iemitsu sighed in exhaustion. He was just as tired as his companion. There were so many promising candidates that refused his offer. The last guy they went to see was too frightened of Gokudera and ran away. "This is as irritating for me as much as it is for you." he said, "We just have to be patient."

The sun was already setting, the blue sky now replaced with splashes of orange and purple. The two's legs felt like they were going to give in any second. Most of the townspeople had already retired to their homes for the day so not a lot of people were around. However, Iemitsu had this nagging feeling that they were being followed.  
"What's with that look on your face?" asked Gokudera, noticing that Iemitsu was a little tense.  
"It's nothing, just tired." the other quickly replied.  
The silver haired boy just shrugged and continued on walking silently.

 _This aura..._ Iemitsu thought. It was something he knew all too well; the presence of a witch. _Shit, you had to pick now of all times?_

"Follow me." Iemitsu commanded.

Gokudera raised an eyebrow, "Aren't I already?"

The two walked along in silence. "Where the hell are we going?" Gokudera questioned further, noticing that they were travelling to a more isolated part of town. Iemitsu kept silent. They then turned into an alley, now nobody had to witness what was about to happen except Iemitsu and Gokudera. "Okay old man, just tell me what's happening." Gokudera demanded.  
Iemitsu sighed at the child's impatience. "All right, in just a few moments, you will get to meet your first witch." he said.

The boy was taken aback by the new information. "Just be ready."Iemitsu instructed. He reached into his coat, grabbing his gun.

The witch's presence was getting closer and closer. _This guy's a strong one._ Iemitsu noted. He kept his focus on the entrance of the alley. After just a few seconds, the silhouette of a large man appeared.

Iemitsu's grip on this gun tightened.

The unknown man got closer and closer, his footsteps echoing through the alley. As soon as he was a meter away from Iemitsu and Gokudera, Iemitsu took the gun out of its holster and pointed it at the mystery witch. "Iemitsu, it's me." the man said.

 _This voice..._ "Bouche? What the hell are you doing here?" Iemitsu asked, recognizing the king's guardian. Just as he came, the witch's aura disappeared.

"You know this guy?" Gokudera asked, pointing to Bouche and giving him a weird look.  
"Yes, he's one of the king's guardians." answered Iemitsu, putting the gun back in its holster in his coat.

Realizing how rude he was, Gokudera's eyes widen in shock and profusely apologized to the large man who only nodded in response. "Head back to the palace, you are relieved of your duty." he said.  
"What do you mean?" Iemitsu asked.  
"Viktor will be the one doing the recruiting now." Bouche said, getting straight to the point.  
"I see," Iemitsu said, a little disappointed, "then how about him?" He glanced at Gokudera.  
"He will stay at the palace with us for today and Viktor will decide to keep him or not tomorrow."  
"Okay, but why-"  
Bouche vanished halfway through Iemitsu's question. _What a weird guy._

* * *

A carriage awaited Iemitsu and Gokudera on the road in front of the alley. A sense of relief washed over Iemitsu when he knew that they didn't have to travel all the way to the palace by foot. "Is that for us?" asked Gokudera as he pointed at the carriage.  
"Indeed it is." was the answer, "I thought a kid raised by a wealthy family would be used to having access to a carriage."  
"Tch, as if I would go around town in this stupid thing." Gokudera said.  
Iemitsu chuckled and stepped into the carriage.

Once they settled down in the seats, the coachman urged the horses forward.

"So, you hired Viktor to help you." Gokudera said, "You guys must be pretty desperate."

Iemitsu decided to keep quiet. He looked out the carriage window and saw a family of three walk past them: a father, a mother, and a young boy. They all had happy looks on their faces, walking together hand in hand. It reminded Iemitsu of the days when Tsuna was younger; they days when they were all happy with each other. Seeing the look hurt look on his son's face when he left home tore his heart to shreds. But staying away from his family was the best way to prevent them from being hurt, especially with the witch situation going on. If the enemy knew who his family was, they wouldn't hesitate to hurt them if they had to.

Iemitsu sighed. Somewhere deep within him, he wished he could go back.


	12. XII Nagi

The warning that Mukuro gave her had been occupying her mind the entire day. Was it really going to happen?

It was now night time and everybody in the mansion had retired to their rooms. Nagi was the only one awake at the moment. Even though she felt tired,she just could not fall asleep. The fact that a notorious witch hunter was going to attack them at any moment bothered her. She felt completely unprepared; her skills at using spells were not even close to how good Mukuro was. All she can do is conjure up illusions to deceive people, but not a physical object or being.

Nagi rolled on her side in bed and curled up into a ball. The lights in her room were out so only the pale moonlight illuminated the room. Slowly, her violet eyes began to grow heavy and Nagi eventually drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

The sound of someone banging on the door was what stirred Nagi from her sleep. As she groggily sat up in bed, Ken barged into the room and pulled her to her feet. "It's about time you woke up, we have to go." he said, panic clear in his voice. It was unusual for Ken to say something without at least one insult in a sentence.

"Ken, what's going on? Are you all right?" Nagi asked.

The boy still held on to her wrist tightly, running through the mansion as fast as he could. "We're under attack you idiot!" Ken shouted as he dragged Nagi down a flight of stairs.

As soon as the two reached the bottom of the stairs, the wall next to them exploded into pieces. The force knocked both Nagi and Ken of their feet. Dust filled the area, making it hard to make out anything. Nagi could barely make out the silhouette of a large man whose glowing red eyes stared down menacingly at her. "Die." he growled as he brought his fist down on the ground in an attempt to crush her. Nagi managed to roll away in time and stood up, her senses now alert. In the distance, she could see Ken already transformed into a wolf-like creature. "Ken!" she shouted. The boy's ears perked up and he turned to her direction, "Go you idiot! Find Mukuro-sama!" he growled and pounced on the red-haired man. Nagi nodded and ran to find the sorcerer.

The girl ran through the mansion, looking in every room to find him. "Mukuro-sama!" she called out as she ran. Nagi's breath was getting more and more ragged, her heartbeat audible in her ears. _I have to keep going._ She reached the room where they had their meeting. When she opened the door, she could see a figure in one of the chairs. It was too dark to see who it was because the curtains were drawn and the chandelier was unlit. There was a feeling of dread in the air, and Nagi gulped as she stepped into the room. The red carpeting felt soft against her feet, though it seemed slightly damp. As she got closer to the person in the chair, Nagi could see a familiar hair clip glinting faintly in the darkness. "M.M...?" she muttered and slowly approved the girl. Her red hair and clothes were damp, and her body sat limply against the chair. "She's dead~" a high pitched voice said.

Nagi turned around to see who it was, only to have the door to the room shut itself with a loud _bang._

"Stupid~ You shouldn't have come in here." the voice said again. Nagi turned back to M.M., but saw a littler girl with long, bright blue hair sitting in her place instead. "Wh-Who are you? What did you do to M.M.?" Nagi asked. She stepped back from the chair, feeling threatened by the ominous aura from the girl.

The blue haired girl cracked an innocent smile, "Now why does that matter? You're gong to see her very soon anyway." she said cheerfully.

Nagi's eyes widen as the girl raised her arm and pointed her hand towards Nagi. As soon as she did that, a rush of water burst through the winder, flooding the room instantly. Nagi did not react in time and ended up getting water in her mouth. She tried to get to the surface of the water, coughing and gasping for air. The water was rising close to the ceiling despite the spell being cast a few seconds ago. _The door!_ Nagi thought. Taking a deep breath, she dove underwater and swam towards the door. She tried to turn the door knob, but it wouldn't budge at all. She was completely trapped.

She tried to swim to the surface once again, but a vortex formed out of nowhere and tossed Nagi and the furniture around the room at dizzying speeds. She was running out of air, causing her vision to darken. Just when she thought her consciousness was going to fade, Nagi felt herself hit the ground with a _thud_. _Where am I?_ she thought. She was no longer in the meeting room, but in some sort of dungeon. Torches were lined up along the walls and there were cells every few meters. There was a rancid smell in the air, making Nagi get a bad feeling about the place.

The sound of metal clanging against metal met Nagi's ears. It sounded like a fight was going on somewhere. Nagi went with her instincts and headed to the right. She embraced herself in order to keep as warm as possible since she was still wet from before. As she walked, she left a trail of footsteps behind her.

The sound got louder and louder as Nagi walked on. She soon reached a rust old door that looked like it had not been used until recently. Instead of a simple doorknob, there was a rust covered wheel that made a ear piercing screech as Nagi slowly turned it. As soon as the door unhinged, she pushed the door and was met with a sight that made her blood run cold. Before her was what looked like a dimly lit lab. Everything was in disarray - broken glass and instruments littered the place and tables were upturned.

But what had her attention was Mukuro fighting a losing battle against a man who wore a white blood stained dress shirt. The man had a wild, sadistic look in his eyes. The navy-haired boy was leaning against his trident, looking like he would collapse any second. He had cuts and stab wounds that dyed his clothes crimson. "Mukuro-sama!" Nagi exclaimed in horror.

Mukuro slowly turned his head to look at her, wincing in pain as he did, "Nagi... I told you to run." he said weakly before his body finally gave out and feel to the floor.

The girl couldn't muster the strength to scream. She could only stand in sheer horror and shock as she stared at an unconscious Mukuro. "Ah~ you must be another on of those horrid creatures." the man who Mukuro was fighting said. He looked at Nagi with wide, dark eyes hungrily like a predator about to hunt down its prey. She tried to run away the way she came, but the door had disappeared and was replaced by a wall. The man chuckled at her helplessness, and walked up to her, "You certainly are foolish to come here little witch." he said.

Nagi was barely able to dodge a swing of the knife that the man held. She whimpered in pain as she felt a stinging sensation in her arm. She ran to the centre of the room where Mukuro lay, not caring about the shards of broken glass that pierced her feet. "Mukuro-sama!" she cried, kneeling down besides him.

He was not breathing.

"You can't save him." the man said, appearing behind her. He thrust his knife into her back, and Nagi fell to the ground besides her companion.

Nagi shot up in bed, her heart beating violently in her chest. She patted herself down, checking for any stab wounds. Nothing. It was just a dream. Nagi breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards her window. The sun was already up, and the grandfather clock on the opposite side of her bed indicated that is was 10 in the morning. Even though she had a long night of sleep, she felt as if she was up the whole night.

Before she could lie back down to get a few more minutes of sleep, Ken just like in her dream, burst through her door. "Oi you have an errand to run, byon!"


	13. XIII Tsuna

Since that day, Tsuna and Yamamoto have been hanging out a lot lately. Yamamoto was probably Tsuna's first friend, seeing as he lived in the middle of the woods with no one but his mother. Usually Tsuna would head to the docks to visit the boy, and occasionally Yamamoto would visit his house as well.

There was a knock on the door when Tsuna was sitting at the dining table with his mother having breakfast. "Did you invite anyone over?" Tsuna asked his mother.

"Hm, I don't think so. Maybe Yamamoto-kun has come to visit again." she replied as she spread some jam on a piece of bread.

Tuna shook his head, "He's busy today."

The brunette got up from his chair and headed towards the door. When he opened the door, there was no one there. "Is this a prank?" Tuna muttered under his breath.

"I believe not." replied a high pitched voice.

"Hie!" Tsuna squeaked in surprise. He looked left and right to find the person who spoke to him.

"Down here." the voice said.

Tsuna looked down and finally met his visitor. "Ciaossu." the little visitor said. He wore a black suit with an orange undershirt and a fedora that had a matching orange ribbon going around it atop his spiky black hair that had two curls on either side of his face. He looked like he was an infant, except he had large black eyes that looked like they stared into your soul.

"U-Uh..Wh-Who are you?" Tsuna asked the stranger. Before he could get an answer, his mother interrupted with conversation. "Tsu-kun, what's taking you so long?" she asked her son. Looking down, she saw who he was talking to. "Ah! You must be the private tutor who offered to teach Tsu-kun. I didn't expect you to be here so soon."

"Mom, you know this kid?" Tsuna asked in disbelief.

"Hehe, yup! And he offered to teach you for free, all he needed was a place to stay." the lady answered, "It's nice to meet you sir, my name is Nana, or you can call me Mama if you'd like." she said kneeling down and offering a hand for the stranger to shake.

"Ciaossu, my name is Reborn. The feeling is mutual." the infant said, shaking the mother's hand.

Private tutor? For _free_? What the heck was she going on about? Sure Tsuna did not have the opportunity to go to school like other kids, and he was happy that his mother went through the trouble of getting a teacher. But this Reborn person looked like someone they couldn't trust! Asking for a place to stay? He was like some kind of fugitive! This was way too fishy. What if he is actually some criminal that the authorities are looking for?

While all these thoughts were popping up in Tsuna's head, he didn't notice that his mother had already invited Reborn to have breakfast with them. By the time he realized, it was too late. "Mom..." he groaned in complaint. Something bad will come out of this, Tsuna was very sure about that.

* * *

"So Reborn-san, when will you begin wit Tsu-kun's lessons?" Nana asked as she poured a cup of water for him.

"I think tomorrow should be an appropriate time." Reborn said before taking a bite out of his bread.

"Splendid! Though we don't have a guest room here... I guess Tsu-kun will be staying in my room from now on." the lady said, clasping her hands together.

"It's no problem, but I think it would be better if your son and I stayed in the same room." Reborn said.

Tsuna choked on his food. _Him_ stay in his room? He prayed that his mother would defend and reject his offer.

"Ah, I see. I guess that would be good." she said instead.

"Mom!" Tsuna protested.

"But Tsu-kun, it'd be better you'd be able to focus on your studies more that way, and you'd get along with Reborn-san faster as well." his mother said.

"But mom, I'm telling you this is a bad idea!" Tsuna tried to argue, though he knew it was useless.

The mother decided she had enough of her son's protest and lightly slammed her fist on the table. "Tsu-kun enough!" she said, making the boy shut up immediately, "Now that you're both done with your food, why don't you bring Reborn-san to your room and help him settle in?" she said, now smiling brightly.

Tsuna sighed, "Okay..."

* * *

Tsuna nervously stood by the door of his room as he watched Reborn inspect it. "Pretty messy for a boy your age." the infant commented.

"Give me a break, it's not like we get a bunch of visitors here." Tsuna grumbled.

Reborn walked over to the window and started unpacking a suitcase that he brought with him. From it, he took out a cot and set it up. _How does he fit that in such a small bag?_ Tsuna thought, staring curiously at his soon-to-be tutor.

"If you wake me in my sleep, you're dead." Reborn said bluntly, turning to Tsuna. The boy quickly nodded, he was not planning on finding out what would happen to him if he did.

In the corner of his vision, Tsuna noticed a slight movement within the newly set up cot. "What are you looking at?" Reborn asked.

"I thought I saw something move." Tsuna said.

Reborn walked back to the cot and put his hand in it. When he brought his hand up, a strange green creature was resting on his arm. "Hie! W-What is that?!" Tsuna exclaimed.

The creature had large yellow reptilian eyes, had four legs, and a tail that curled at the end. "This is Leon, my companion. Don't tell me you've never seen a chameleon before." said Reborn, walking closer to Tsuna to give him a better look at Leon. The brunette stared at it fearfully at the unfamiliar animal. Is it poisonous? Will it kill him?

"He's harmless." Reborn assured him, noticing Tsuna's unease.

"O-Oh, ok..." said Tsuna. He bent down and lightly patted Leon on the head. The chameleon closed its eyes in response, approving of its treatment.

"Hey Reborn. Why did you offer to tutor me anyway?" asked Tsuna. Reborn didn't answer and brought Leon up to rest on the brim of his hat. He then walked over to the chest that was next to Tsuna's closet and sat on it. "Oi, did you hear what I asked?" Tsuna demanded, standing in front of Reborn.

"What do you think about witches?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna was taken aback by the question, "Excuse me...?"

"What do you think about witches?" Reborn repeated.

Why was he asking this sort of question so suddenly? Was he another witch hunter in disguise?

"W-Well, I think that we they are doing to innocent people is bad." Tsuna answered. _This is bad, were we found out?_

"Anything else?"

The boy gulped, he had to sound more convincing, "They are wicked and don't deserve to live?" Tsuna answered, though the uncertainty in his voice was crystal clear.

"Hm, I see." Reborn said, "But from that incident a year ago, I don't think those are your true feelings."

Tsuna's heart dropped. He was found out, his mother as well. Crap. _He's going to kill me us! But wait, how did he-_

"I saw you helping that witch back when I was passing through these woods." Reborn said, answering the question on the perplexed boy's mind, "So I'll ask again, what do you think of them? Why did you save her?"

Tsuna clenched his hands. If he was going to die now, then he might as well defend the witches with all his might, "I think, no, I _know_ that witches aren't bad people. You're just afraid of their capabilities and kill them needlessly to keep yourself 'safe.' They're not that different from us you know? They have feelings just like we do. They can love and hurt. Just because someone isn't like you doesn't give you the right to harm them." Tsuna said, his voice shaking but strong, "If you are going to kill me...go ahead. Just please, don't do anything to mom."

Silence filled the room as Tsuna awaited Reborn's response. He could feel his hands and legs trembling. He knew he was going to be executed.

"Tsuna." Reborn finally said.

"Y-Yes?" the brunette responded.

"I need you to help me."


	14. XIV Viktor

Today was the day Viktor would get to meet the guy that Iemistu brought in as a candidate to fight the witches. He highly doubted that the person would be of any use though.

Viktor climbed out of the carriage and entered the palace. He was then escorted by a guard to the back of the palace where a large training ground was. Dummies with targets painted onto them lined up in a straight line in front of him. A stand with multiple weapons like swords stood at the sides.

"You must be the new kid." Viktor said to the only person there.

"What do you want old man?" replied a silver haired teenager.

"My, my, is this the way you talk to your elders?", Viktor said, though he wasn't offended by the boy's statement, "The name's Viktor."

The old man reached out a hand for him to shake. "Gokudera Hayato." the boy said, returning the gesture.

 _Oh dear Iemitsu, of all the people you had to pick from._ Viktor thought disappointed. The boy wasn't qualified at all. Nothing about this Gokudera Hayato stood out to him. _Just another rascal with no resolve._

"My apologies for the sudden news, but I'm going to have to let you go." Viktor said.

"What the hell? I just got here." Gokudera says, looking very angry.

"Yes, yes, I am well aware of that, but after evaluating you I can say that you do not reach my standards."

"We haven't even done anything yet! The king doesn't just pick anyone!"

"Ah, ah, ah the king didn't pick you, Iemitsu did. Goodness me, I should have recruited the people myself in the first place! Such a waste of time!"

Viktor felt no shred of remorse. Why should he? He was only being honest! All this is for the good of humanity.

"At least tell me why you're suddenly tossing me aside!" Gokudera demanded. He looked like he was going to explode any second.

 _This won't do at all._ Viktor said to himself. "You have no resolve."

"...Resolve?" Gokudera questioned, "How do I find this resolve or whatever you're talking about?"

"That, Goku-chan, is something that you have to find for yourself." Viktor said, turning around to leave the training grounds, "Farewell~."

With that, Viktor left Gokudera alone. Good grief, the kids these days! So lousy.

"S-Sir Viktor! What are you doing here?" a palace guard asked, "Aren't you supposed to be on the training grounds?"

"Ah about that, I'm off to find new recruits. I am very unsatisfied with what I've been given today." Viktor answered. He walked out the palace doors and towards the gates. "Sir, would you like me to call a carriage?" the guard called out.

"Nope." Viktor replied, not bothering to look back at him.

Once outside, Viktor pondered, "Where shall I go first?"

After a moment, he smiled. The man set forth to look for the perfect candidates.


End file.
